Edwards, Timberwolves Can't Overcome Turnover Woes in Loss to OKC

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's historic streak of 20-point games nearly came to an end, but the reigning MVP's shooting struggles hardly mattered to the overall result of Sunday's game in Oklahoma City.

When SGA finally reached 20 points for the 128th consecutive contest, the Thunder were up 16 points over the Timberwolves with less than two minutes to play. Starters for both teams were then pulled, and the top-seeded Thunder (53-15) wrapped up a 116-103 win over the Timberwolves (41-27), who are now just 1.5 games above the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.

Gilgeous-Alexander's streak was in real jeopardy, as he had only 10 points in the first three quarters of Sunday's matinee showdown. The Timberwolves were all over him on the defensive end. But he ultimately got to 20 points on 7-of-22 shooting, and he chipped in 10 assists with only one turnover.

The playmaking element is what separates SGA from Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves' superstar who still has another big leap to take if he wants to become a true MVP candidate. Edwards, who was playing through some knee soreness for the second straight game, was held to 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting. But he had 5 assists and a game-high 6 turnovers.

The Wolves' inability to take care of the basketball was the difference in the game. They out-shot the Thunder but committed 25 turnovers that led to 29 OKC points. The Thunder turned it over only seven times on the game. That, along with OKC's advantage in paint points, tells basically the entire story of the afternoon.

Julius Randle had his best game for the Wolves in a long time, scoring 32 points and adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists (with just one turnover). Ayo Dosunmu was excellent off Minnesota's bench, scoring 18 points. But Edwards struggled with his shot and the Wolves got very little from Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid. That trio combined for 10 points and 10 turnovers on 3-of-12 shooting.

Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Joe, Alex Caruso, and Jared McCain came up huge for the Thunder — all four scored at least 15 points — on a day where SGA's shots weren't faling and Jalen Williams was absent due to injury.

The Thunder jumped out to an immediate 9-0 lead, which was an inauspicious start for a Timberwolves team that has struggled in day games this season. But to their credit, the Wolves responded well. They were back in the game by the end of the opening quarter, then ended the second quarter on a 16-4 run to take a six-point lead into the halftime locker room.

Randle had 17 points in the opening half. Dosunmu played a huge role with 15, hitting all six of his shot attempts, while McDaniels played only six minutes due to foul trouble. Edwards had 11 points but had four of the Wolves' 12 turnovers. And Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 4 points on 2-of-10 shooting in the opening 24 minutes.

Midway through the third quarter, Minnesota had a nine-point lead. Then the Thunder came to life. OKC ripped off a 21-5 run to take a seven-point lead of its own and went into the fourth quarter up by four after a late Dosunmu three.

When Edwards checked back into the game a few minutes into the fourth, the Wolves' deficit was up to a game-high 11 points. And it swelled to 15 after another three from Jared McCain, who hit three of them in the first five minutes of the final period. The extended run from OKC was 41-17. From there, the Wolves simply didn't have enough to mount a rally against the NBA's best defensive team.

The Wolves will head home after a disappointing 1-3 road trip. They'll look to get back on track on Tuesday in a massive home game against the Suns, who are looking to surpass Minnesota for the sixth spot in the West and escape the play-in tournament.